Glenn Williams
MUSIC WRITER IN JAPAN
BOX SET
GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS
I LIKE IT!
ANTHOLOGY 1963 - 1966
Cherry Red
Go to Liverpool today and you’ll meet lots of taxi drivers, shopkeepers, people on the street, people in bars and clubs and each has their own story to tell about John, Paul, George or Ringo. Go to Anfield to watch a home game of Liverpool Football Club though and there is only one musician and his group who are represented. Prior to kick-off, in support of their idols on the pitch, 60,000 fans will sing Gerry & The Pacemakers version of You’ll Never Walk Alone; hearing it raises the hairs on your arms, being in amongst it is like nothing else on earth. When Gerry Marsden died in 2021, he couldn’t have a large funeral due to covid restrictions but eleven football stadiums around the world combined through the internet to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone as a tribute; hundreds of thousands more joined in online. On hearing about his death, Paul McCartney said that “Gerry was a mate from our early days in Liverpool. He and his group were our biggest rivals on the local scene.”
Gerry & The Pacemakers early discography is somewhat complicated. In the UK, his first two single were not released on his debut album but they were split between the first two US albums, both of which had omissions to their UK counterparts. Other tracks were released in the USA and Canada but not the UK. Suffice to say, it is now all here in one place including the complete Oakland Auditorium concert from 1964 which spawned the ‘Gerry In California’ EP released the following year. This era, three short years, is filled with fun, laughter, cheekiness and joy, it’s an era of innocence, a time when Liverpool was the greatest city in the world and Gerry & The Pacemakers ran with The Beatles, not below them. Their delivery of a self-penned song is on a par with the Fab Four’s first two albums. Their covers of show tunes, Rock ‘n’ Roll classics and standards are delightfully arranged and the concert included in this, is arguably better than any of the official Beatles live releases.
Gerry has a smile on his face in every photo you can find and that’s because by all accounts, he was one the happiest musicians of that era. This comes through in his music as does his love of Liverpool, the city he lived in all his life. The same can be said of The Pacemakers, a band that continues to this day with Gerry’s blessing even though all of the original Pacemakers, Gerry’s brother, Freddie (d), Les McQuire (piano) and Les Chadwick (b) are sadly, no longer with us. For a snapshot of 1960’s Merseybeat, along with the camaraderie that went with it in all the musicians, you can do no better than to listen to this set from one of Liverpool’s most revered sons and his band.
Track List
Disc One
How Do You Do It?
Away From You
I Like It
It’s Happened To Me
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
Jambalaya
Where Have You Been All My Life?
Here’s Hoping
Pretend
Maybelline
You’ll Never Walk Alone
The Wrong Yo Yo
You’re The Reason
Chills
You Can’t Fool Me
Don’t You Ever
Summertime
Slow Down
It’s All Right
I’ll Be There (First Version)
Don’t Ever Stray
Hello Little Girl
I’m The One
You’ve Got What I Like
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying
Show Me That You Care
I’ll Be There (Second Version – No Strings)
Give Me All Your Love (No Strings)
Come Back To Me (No Strings)
Dizzy Miss Lizzy (Live)
My Babe (Live)
Away From You (Live)
What’d I Say (Live)
Disc Two
Ferry Cross The Mersey
It’s Gonna Be All Right
Why Oh Why
Fall In Love
Think About Love
This Thing Called Love
Baby You’re So Good To Me
I’ll Wait For You
She’s The Only Girl For Me
You You You
It’s Just Because
My Love Forever
I’ll Be There (Second (Single) Version With Strings)
What’d I Say (Studio Version)
Reelin’ And Rockin’
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On
Rip It Up
You Win Again
Now I’m Alone
My Babe (Studio Version)
I Count The Tears
It’ll Be Me
Skinny Minnie
When Oh When
Hallelujah I Love Her So
Tomorrow
I’ll Make It All Up To You
Give Me All Your Love (With Strings)
Come Back To Me (With Strings)
Walk Hand In Hand
Dreams
Disc Three
Today I’m In Love
La La La
Without You
Girl On A Swing
Fool To Myself
The Way You Look Tonight
The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
On A Wonderful Day Like Today
Tonight
Strangers In The Night
Who Can I Turn To
See You In September
Pretty Flamingo
The End Of The Rainbow
Guantanamera
Looking For My Life
Anyone At All
Introduction *
Dizzy Miss Lizzy *
I Like It *
My Babe *
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying *
Slow Down *
I’m The One *
Away From You *
A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues *
How Do You Do It *
What’d I Say *
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying †
Ferry Cross The Mersey †
It’s Gonna Be All Right †
I’ll Be There (Second Version With Strings) †
Walk Hand In Hand †
Looking For My Life †
* Live from the Oakland Auditorium, 24 October 1964 (Stereo)
† Stereo
BOX SET
LINDISFARNE
BRAND NEW DAY
THE MERCURY YEARS 1979 - 1979
Cherry Red
From 1970 to 1973, Lindisfarne released four albums on the Charisma label, each one, an absolute gem of British Folk Rock. The pressures of international touring took their toll on the band though and they split, their final offering being an underwhelming live album. There was always talk amongst their fans of them getting back together, particularly in their hometown of Newcastle, so when Lindisfarne announced in 1976 that they would they would for a one-off Christmas show, ticket sales went through the roof and the one-off quickly became a three-off. Everyone, especially the band, had a good time so they did the same the following year. Four shows this time, the last being on Christmas Eve which they had the foresight to record. Enter Mercury Records.
With a renewed camaraderie, Lindisfarne signed to Mercury and their first release on the label was that live recording. It reset Lindisfarne, showing that they were a phenomenal live band, erasing the memory of the 1973 Live album and they returned to the recording studio with vigour and a new producer, the flamboyant hitmaker, Gus Dudgeon. The resulting album, Back And Fourth, saw them back in the UK Top 10 for the first time in six years with the single, Run For Home. A reflective song featuring a full orchestra and distinctive instrument called the cor anglaise, it was also their first hit in the USA. That single was a teaser, released a few weeks before the album and when Back And Fourth did come out, it showed that the magic was still there. Eleven songs, lovingly produced with the classic Lindisfarne vocals and instrumentation but with an up-to-date sound, in an era when Britain had moved from Glam and Folk Rock in the early seventies into the now Disco and New Wave era, it was warmly received by the critics and fans alike.
They went back on the road in the UK and ended the year by playing five Christmas shows in Newcastle.
There is no doubt that 1978 had been a terrific year for the band, probably one of their best so they ventured in 1979 with much optimism. Mercury wanted a follow-up album and the producer they chose was Hugh Murphy, the man who had put Gerry Rafferty at No. 1 with Baker Street the previous year and was fresh on everyone’s mind as Gerry’s latest single, Night Owl, had peaked at No. 5 in February. It seemed like the perfect combination and it was – musically. The album has all that you could want in songwriting and production but the scene in the UK was drastically different from the previous year and it was a commercial failure. The US refused to release the album on the grounds that the previous one was still selling and Lindisfarne and Mercury dropped them.
​
The band would continue as a live tour de force and they put out records that were good but never matched their 1970s releases. These three albums, released in what could arguably be Lindisfarne’s most commercially successful but also most difficult time, are testament to the band that they still had so much to give and gave it whenever asked. The two studio albums may not be their most famous from the seventies but they are a crucial part of the band’s catalogue and contain everything that Lindisfarne were about. If you’ve never heard them, now would be a very good time.
Track List
Disc 1 - Magic In The Air (Live, 1978)
Lady Eleanor
Road To Kingdom Come
Turn A Deaf Ear
January Song
Court In The Act
No Time To Lose
Winter Song
Uncle Sam
Wake Up Little Sister
All Fall Down
Meet Me On The Corner
Bye-Bye Birdie
Train In G Major
Scarecrow Song
Dingley Dell
Scotch Mist
We Can Swing Together
Fog On The Tyne
Clear White Light
Disc 2 - Back And Fourth (1978)
Juke Box Gypsy
Warm Feeling
Woman
Only Alone
Run For Home
Kings Cross Blues
Get Wise
You And Me
Marshall Riley's Army
Angels At Eleven
Make Me Want To Stay
Bonus Tracks
Stick Together
When It Gets The Hardest
Brand New Day
Run For Home (Edited version) †
See How They Run †
Juke Box Gypsy (Single version) †
Warm Feeling (Mono) †
Happy or Sad (Demo)
Reunion (Demo)
† Previously unreleased on CD
Disc 3 - The News (1979)
Call Of The Wild
People Say
1983
Log On Your Fire
Evening
Easy And Free
Miracles
When Friday Comes Along
Dedicated Hound
This Has Got To End
Good To Be Here
Bonus Tracks (All previously unreleased on CD)
Easy And Free (Single version)
Intro *
Stick Together *
Juke Box Gypsy *
People Say *
Marshall Riley's Army *
Call Of The Wild *
Evening *
Warm Feeling *
Run For Home *
Dedicated Hound *
* Live at Newcastle City Hall, 1979